The man with the hoodie on and the worn baggy jeans neared the towering building of an old hospital. The windows were tinted so you could not look inside every room. The landscaping around the place was untidy, with grass becoming more of a threatening force that latched onto the legs at a shin-high length. He was aspirated, taking in the air like it was the only thing he could rely on not failing him. In his hand, he clutched a Bible, tasked with cleansing those in the hospital of their "impurities." He fell short in this category himself, knowing he was impure and yet a critic for performing the job he did. Alas, whatever could get him paid... he thought to himself. He turned up the path of the hospital, the walk already took a minor toll on his legs. Each person he asked for directions seemed to have a look smeared to their face that called out fear. Directions after directions, misleading him to dead ends every now and then. It's as if they warned him from going there but the only one who offered proper directions was that of a fair-skinned woman who only stood there with a look of approval. Word has it that she lost a family member of hers to the hospital confinement, so she was the only one who had any sensation of hope left. Remarkably so, even in these dull times. The radio had been buzzing for the past few months bringing only negativity. Clashing between mindless celebrities but even more serious new illnesses being discovered and scaring the public into questioning. It even got so bad that as he walked over to the hospital, he saw individuals residing by the side of the road begging for money to escape illness. Even if they weren't sick, people were beginning to believe they were. The hospital saw an uprise in patients and a sharp decline in people leaving. Seemed as once you were admitted, they really would deem you crazy. Lucas, however, had inside connections. His friend Vincent would be there as well, with the objective of taking notes on patients. Vincent overlooked much of what the patients had confided in him for and instead, only seemed to care for the points that could make them out as a danger. From an outsider's perspective, taking one glimpse of that notebook he held so close would only teach you undesirable traits of the individuals he worked with. Except for his maintained clean appearance, everything else about him was corrupt. He swore by Lucas that the both of them could make quick money taking on these jobs and years into it, it was no longer a job but a lifestyle. The eye bags under his eyes just emphasized his lack of sleep. It was quite difficult to sleep in the quarters of the hospital with the screaming of patients. Most of them had the tendency to hallucinate and bother the nurses for nights on end of various apparitions haunting them. Supposedly, it became known that a familiar shadow would creep down the left-wing hall of the hospital at odd hours of the night. One of the patients who was a regular to which all nurses would recall was a young woman named Ruby. She had hallucinated one night and swore she saw someone at the bottom of the staircase taunting her and after leaning over the banister to get a better look, she had fallen. The legend inspired whispers all throughout the hospital that it truly was haunted, but Vincent didn't believe in any of that. He just mocked those who did, rolling his eyes and tending back to his hospital shifts. Those who ran the hospital were two individuals- Marie and Ambrose. The hospital wasn't exactly known for being a religious sanctuary, so they had turned to Lucas as a last resort. Ambrose was a man to be reckoned with throughout the town, but also a man with a damaged reputation. Those who saw fit referred to him as evil, asked how he could- all the above. Like an inciter of darkness. But for those who had the opportunity to get close to him, they realized he wasn't all that. He was a weary man of his mid-50s with Marie treading carefully behind him, another weary soul of her 30s. Ambrose was the original single owner before he hired Marie to work alongside him. He figured the hospital could use a new, lively, young face around. She'd be acquired more with bookkeeping and overlooking records of the patients as Ambrose managed all else. They were expected to have a few visitors in the coming days to check on the conditions at the hospital. Ambrose and Marie weren't particularly worried but did expect all to be on their best behavior, staff and patients alike. As Ambrose and Marie chattered away over their dinner, Vincent's patience was slowly dwindling down with an unrelenting patient. He tried method after method to get the patient to calm down and speak at his level- to no avail. He was drenched in the look of frustration but turned back to his notebook to continue the documentation process. Some patients he came across were more bearable than others but nonetheless, he worked with all of them. When he got to his breaking point for the day, he shoved his notebook in his bag and got up abruptly and left the room to avoid his anger issues taking over. Ironically, who in their right mind would hire a man with anger issues to interview the patients? It's just the typical people that worked at the hospital, each with their own set of issues, being that those who were on the outside would never dream of being affiliated with that hospital in any way shape, or form. Featuuuring... insomnia. The best of friends, Vincent, and insomnia. It burned inside of him whenever he came across someone who seemed to be normal, who didn't belong in the hospital. It just made his job that much more difficult.